Culture as Context

CL3001: Culture as Context: Explain how culture provides a critical context for children’s growth and development.

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Written Response Submission Form

Your Name: First and last

Your E-Mail Address: Your e-mail here

Instructions

Write your responses where it reads “Enter your response here.” Write as much as needed to satisfy the requirements indicated. Each item contains the Rubric, which will be used to evaluate your responses.

At the end of the template, you will list the references you used to support your responses.

 

Scenario: You are an educator at an early childhood education center that serves a diverse, international population of children and families. You have been recognized by the director as a leader at the school, as you have worked extensively to infuse culturally responsive teaching practices that positively influence children’s identity development into your classroom. The director has asked you to share your expertise with your colleagues in the center by providing professional development supporting knowledge of how children’s cultural contexts influence their development and learning. In Items 1 through 3, summarize the main ideas you will be presenting to the staff.

 

Item 1

First, briefly explain the concept of culture.

(1 paragraph)

 

Your Response

            Culture can be said to be the characteristics and qualities that form the lifestyle of an individual. It is a cumulative knowledge, experiences, believes, and values that an individual or a group of people acquire over a period of time and which is passed from one generation to another. Culture varies from one group of people to another and people exhibit different behaviors depending on their cultural background. 

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 1: The Influence of Culture on Children’s Development and Learning
Explain the concept of culture.   LO1:  Explain the concept of culture.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

Item 2

Explain two ways children’s development and learning may be influenced by the cultural context in which they grow and develop. (1 paragraph)

 

Your Response

            The cultural context acts as a strong background for children’s development. For example, cognitive development of a child can be greatly enhanced in a culture that values science and mathematics. Similarly, a culture with limited diversity can lead to one feel less inferior or superior than others. On the other hand, culture rich with religious practices and social experiences can lead to a strong emotional and social development in children.

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 1: The Influence of Culture on Children’s Development and Learning
Explain two ways children’s development and learning may be influenced by the cultural context in which they grow and develop.   LO2:  Explain how the cultural contexts in which children grow and develop may influence their development and learning.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

Item 3

Using at least two examples, explain the relationship between culture, cultural context, and a child’s identity development.

Your Response

            Children develop their identities from their cultural contexts. Children selves are largely shaped by the local environment where the child is raised (Vedder & Geel, 2017). For example, a child from a more reserved culture may suffer from low self-esteem, while a child from a culture which incorporates music performance in their daily life may grow up with a good exposure and self-confidence thus leading to high self-esteem.

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 1: The Influence of Culture on Children’s Development and Learning
Using at least two examples, explain the relationship between culture, cultural context, and a child’s identity development.   LO3:  Explain how children’s identity development can be influenced by culture and the broader social context.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

Item 4

Identify at least three ways that socio-economic status may impact a child’s development. (1 paragraph)

 

Your Response

            Social economic status of a child is linked to the socio-economic status of their parents. A child growing in a family with low socio-economic status will suffer poor choice of words and thus poor language development. This is due to inability of the parents to teach their children critical topics and concepts needed in language development.  Socio-economic status also impacts a child’s development in boosting the ability to think critically. The ability of a child to think highly depends on its health, which in turn depends on the financial status of the family. Lastly, children coming from a family with low socio-economic status will suffer emotional and behavioral developments due to the stress related to unavailability of basic resources.  

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 1: The Influence of Culture on Children’s Development and Learning
Identify at least three ways that socio-economic status may impact a child’s development.   LO4:  Explain how socio-economic status may impact children’s development.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

Scenario: You and your co-teacher, Glenna, work at an ECE center where helping children develop independence is a primary goal. For example, in the center, children are encouraged to complete tasks independently and take naps according to the program schedule. Roana, the mother of a new 16-month-old child under your care, is concerned that your classroom practices are in direct contrast to her own approach of co-sleeping and spoon-feeding. Her concerns are grounded in the collectivist approach of her culture. Roana explains that she and her husband would like you and your co-teacher to practice the same approaches they use at home so that her child does not become confused.

You are aware that collective and individualistic approaches to child-rearing are often linked to cultural beliefs and values. However, before you can respond, your co-teacher tells Roana that the center takes more of an individualist approach with scheduled naps and self-feeding because independence and autonomy are essential skills for young children to develop.

In Items 5 and 6, your task is to facilitate a culturally responsive conversation between Glenna, your co-teacher, and Roana, the parent.

Item 5

Without taking a stance, explain how attachment and separation might be impacted differently when collectivist and individualist approaches are utilized. (1–2 paragraphs)

 

Your Response

            Attachment is the sense of proximity that a child develops with its immediate caregiver. When collective approaches are used, the child will not suffer because the presence of union from other children. The attachment is a little bit maintained and thus the child is not adversely affected. Individualist approach on the other hand promotes separation. This approach encourages independence and autonomy in child growth. Here, the child can easily be separated from its caregiver because the child can develop self-skills which minimize the overdependence to the caregiver.

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 2: Impact of Cultural Practices on Children’s Growth and Development
Without taking a stance, explain how attachment and separation might be impacted differently when collectivist and individualist approaches are utilized.   LO1:  Explain differences in developmental outcomes related to collectivist and individualistic interactions, including outcomes related to attachment and separation.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

Item 6

Provide your colleague, Glenna, with at least 2 concrete suggestions for responding to Roana’s request in culturally responsive ways. (1–2 paragraphs)

 

Your Response

            The first suggestion will be convincing Roana on the benefits of individualist approach. This approach is the best in ensuring that a child develops the required skills right in the early stages of life. This approach enables a child to be independent by learning the basic life-skills like feeding and sleeping. This reduces the time spend by parents while giving care to their children. Children brought up under this approach develop critical thinking in the early stages of life since they are faced with the responsibility of decision making right from the young age.

            Another suggestion will be to admit the incorporation of collectivist approach in the center. Collectivist approach on the other hand is useful in building team work and social awareness. Using this approach in the center will promote emotional intelligence among the children. They will appreciate each other’s divergent cultural context and learn how to live with other children from different cultural background.

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 2: Impact of Cultural Practices on Children’s Growth and Development
Provide your colleague, Glenna, with at least 2 concrete suggestions for responding to Roana’s request in culturally responsive ways.   LO2:  Explain culturally responsive ways to respond to cultural differences in childrearing approaches.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

 

Item 7

You are an early childhood professional working with a wonderful and diverse group of families and children. Many of the children are in the process of learning, and several have identified disabilities. Some of the families in your class, as well, live in poverty. As a first step to exploring how to support the development and learning of all of the children and families in your class, explain how a teacher’s cultural framework might influence classroom practices and interactions with children and families. (2–3 paragraphs)

Your Response

            A successful teacher is the one who understands his own cultural frame work. A teacher needs to understand his or her own culture and know how it influences their attitude. Some cultural background may lead to being biased when it comes to understanding the students. The way a teacher treats his or her students highly depends on how they view and interpret the students’ behavior. A teacher therefore needs to develop a culturally inclusive mindset and accommodate different cultures from the students.

            Knowledge of students’ cultural background is another factor to consider. A teacher who is well versed with the cultural practices and values of his or her students is likely to create a positive interaction during teaching (Gay, 2018). Understanding each student’s family status will help the teacher treat them equitably by acknowledging the different challenges faced by different students.

            A teacher can enhance interaction by making the classroom a judgment free zone. This promotes unbiased opinions among students and they can interact comfortably with each other hence creating a favorable learning environment. 

Rubric

	0 Not Present	1 Needs Improvement	2 Meets Expectations
Topic 3: Interaction Between Cultural Frameworks and Cultures of Children and Families
As a first step to exploring how to support the development and learning of all of the children and families in your class, explain how a teacher’s cultural framework might influence classroom practices and interactions with children and families.   LO1:  Explain how an educator’s cultural framework may influence both classroom practices and interactions with children and families.	Response is missing.	Response is vague, inaccurate, and/or incomplete.	Response is clear, accurate, and complete.

 

 

References

Egalite, A. J. (2016). How family background influences student achievement: can schools narrow the gap?. Education Next, 16(2), 70-79.

Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press.

Vedder, P., & van Geel, M. (2017). Cultural identity development as a developmental resource. In Handbook on positive development of minority children and youth (pp. 123-137). Springer, Cham.

Mastery Rubric

In order to achieve mastery of this Competency, you must achieve a “2” on every rubric row in addition to meeting the additional expectation indicated in the Mastery Rubric.

MASTERY RUBRIC
Exceeds Expectations: In-Depth Analysis:  Explores issues through analysis of evidence that results in informed judgments.
LO1: Analyze multiple, relevant sources to identify the importance of creating culturally responsive contexts supportive of young children and their families.	Responses to the items synthesize information from multiple, relevant sources to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the critical role of cultural context in supporting positive developmental outcomes for young children and their families. YesNo

Professional Skill Building

The faculty Assessor will provide feedback based on the following Professional Skills:  Written Communication and Engaging Multiple Social and Cultural Perspectives.  Although the feedback is here to inform the development of your skills, it is not a barrier to achieving the Competency, unless the writing is too poor to be able to score the content of the Assessment. Review the rubric and check your work based on the learning objectives listed. If you are concerned that you will not meet these expectations yet, reach out to your Coach so he or she can work with you to further develop these important professional skills.

It is highly recommended that you use this opportunity to practice these important skills in the context of this Competency Assessment in order to receive feedback about your current level of proficiency.

		0 Not Present		1 Needs Improvement		2 Meets Expectations
LO2: Recognize how knowledge from different cultural and social perspectives might affect interpretations of issues in society.		Recognition is not present.		Response demonstrates a vague understanding of how different cultural and social perspectives might affect interpretations of issues.		Response demonstrates a clear understanding of how different cultural and social perspectives might affect interpretations of issues.